A few deals for ex-Southeast Asia slabs have been reported to Europe after a pause, as the suppliers have faced a slowdown in local demand and have been interested in export sales to distant markets where prices have been more attractive. At the same time, imports in the Southeast Asian region itself have been accounted for by rare deals of cheaper ex-Russia and ex-Iran slabs, SteelOrbis has learned.
A deal for 40,000 mt of ex-Vietnam slabs has been reported to Italy at $490-495/mt FOB or around $550-560/mt CFR. The producer has been trying to sell an additional 10,000 mt at $550/mt CFR to ship it together, but there has been no confirmation of any success. An Indonesian supplier has been offering in the same range and is likely to have sold as well, as to some European customers this producer has increased offers to as high at $510-520/mt FOB this week. Most market sources believe that only plate producers in Europe may be interested in slab purchases at these levels, as local plate prices are much better in the region compared to HRC.
At the same time, in the Southeast Asian import slab market deals have all been reported below $500/mt CFR for ex-Russia and ex-Iran materials. A deal for slabs from Russia’s Far East region has been done to Indonesia at $490/mt CFR. In addition, at least 30,000 mt of ex-Iran slabs have been traded to Asia at $450-454/mt CFR, though the destination has not been disclosed, with some sources believing it to be Thailand. This price translates to $400/mt FOB or even below, while the previous bookings were at $420-430/mt FOB.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for imported slabs in Southeast Asia has been settled at $470-530/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $500/mt CFR, up by $7.5/mt from the level seen early in November, mainly owing to the higher end of the range, which increased after the slight improvement in HRC prices in Asia over the past two weeks.